Chapter One: Joel Gail
"The UAC takes pride in its safety record." The automated, female voice announced over the intercom. "Please be sure to follow all safety procedures at all times while working in areas that may present a safety hazard to you or those around you. Thank you, and have a nice day."
"The UAC cares about the well-being of its staff. Psychological reports are free and confidential. Please report to the medical division if you have any questions." Another one chimed in.
"The goals of Union Aerospace Corporation are to expand our knowledge of the world around us through advanced scientific study and progress and to make the world a safer place for everyone. Please visit the front desk if you have any questions." A male voice announced in a distant lobby.
"THE UNION AEROSPACE CORPORATION: BUILDING SAFER WORLDS THROUGH TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERIORITY." Read yet another scrolling LCD banner above Joel's head. He ignored them, and kept walking down the brightly lit hallways of the Mars City transit centre. He thought about everything he'd done today, making a mental list in his head. Okay, he'd gotten the permit, the off-work excuse, temporary general access clearance…OK, yeah. That was everything.
He rounded a corner and moved to avoid a troupe of maintenance workers carrying a large power cell on a large dolly. "Move it, buddy," the one of them said to him, "the reactor went down again."
"How much power can they be pulling from the generators that would cause a whole sector to go out!" another asked. "And then we're the ones who have to fix it."
"Did you here about Jakes and Gibson?" a third one chimed in. "Went out on maintenance detail last night and just disappeared. That's it. No trace of either of them was found."
"And they're not the first. Remember Lawrence's accident in the Delta Labs? I still don't believe he got his foot caught in a servomotor. It's a damned shame, if you ask me. Watch your toes, buddy." The first one grumbled. Joel moved backwards again as the dolly swung out, and they rounded the corner and kept moving. That wasn't the first time he'd heard the maintenance workers complaining about their job. In fact, Joel couldn't think of a time he'd ever heard maintenance worker do anything but complain. But maybe it was because he was a Marine. No excuses, no complaints. Well, not unless you wanted to get exterior security detail from Master Sergeant Kelly.
But they weren't the only ones. Everyone had been on edge recently since the latest round of accidents that had claimed the lives of a more than a few members of the research station. Joel wasn't sure that he wanted to believe that his superiors were lying to him about the accidents. At the same time, it just didn't sound right when he was being told that every single one of them was an unfortunate coincidence. Some suspected murder. Joel tried not to think about it altogether.
Joel hadn't wanted to come to Mars to work here. It wasn't why he'd joined the U.S. Armed Forces. He'd joined to serve his country in any way that he could. But lately it seemed that the U.S. military heads hadn't had qualms about loaning troops out to private organizations. And what choice did he have, really? None. He was just another leatherneck, expected to follow orders like everyone else.
Not that Mars City was a bad place. In fact, it was anything but bad. It had excellent facilities, it was huge, and the Marine compliment he came here with were a pretty nice bunch of fellows. But Joel had often wondered if man's destiny really lied in the stars. Across the rugged, red, Martian landscape, Mars City seemed out of place. Amazing, but out of place nonetheless.
And maybe it wasn't Mars City. Maybe it was the Union Aerospace Corporation itself. Joel remembered in his youth always hearing about something going on in the news about a new breakthrough made by the UAC, and then ten seconds later hear that they were denying allegations involving some internal conspiracy. But one could not deny that the things that the things the Corporation had accomplished were amazing. They were the first to invent plasma weaponry, intersystem jump stations, and an orbital missile defense system that could hit any target within ten centimeters. They also invented prolonged life treatment, wiped out most forms of cancer, and it was a member of their staff who created an antiviral strain to combat AIDS.
But hearing about it on the outside was much different than being involved with it on the inside. But to be honest, Joel could not pinpoint any real source for suspicion. It was just one his many gut feelings, and gut feelings were no grounds for any feeling whatsoever without evidence. So Joel had just recently resolved not to think about it and just do his job.
He'd heard rumors of strange things like voices and worse, but he'd never heard any of these for himself. And the head psychologist had jut recently released a report on his thesis about it. His answer didn't surprise Joel: long work conditions and mental conflicts. Get a good night's sleep and everything will be fine.
"Bullshit." One of his squad mates had condemned the report emphatically after reading it. "I know what I heard, and I ain't a nut." And as much as Joel had wanted to believe Mark, he also had to admit that Mark wasn't the most stable guy in the world.
He leaned back against the wall, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets. He looked at the reinforced, plated metal ceiling. It was the first time in a long time when he'd worn something other than his heavy UAC Marine armor, and it was a welcome relief. But even his jacket had the UAC logo emblazoned on the lapel, and his pants were his standard-issue military fatigues. He kind of felt like he was selling himself out to the system, but what they gave him is what he had to wear.
But at least he was cheating the system a little. The reason he was given the day off was because his family was coming to visit him. He smiled again at that thought, and remembered all the red-tape he'd had to go through to even get his proposal to be decided on. Actually, his original request had been to go home to see them on administrative leave, but they'd denied him that. But his wife sent him an email shortly thereafter with the suggestion that they come to him. After meeting with her on a video chat, they'd talked about it.
"I don't know if they'd let me, babe." He'd said to her. "They're switching us out with another unit in six months, so I'll be home soon."
"That's not good enough, Joel." His wife had insisted, her eyes penetrating him. "You picked the worst time to leave, and you know that."
"Baby, I can't help that." He'd said. "I have to go where they want me, or I'll lose my job. And if that happens, we're out of a home. You know I don't like it any more than you do, but it's what I have to do to support this family."
She'd turned away from the screen for a second. "I know." She'd said softly, pretending like she was picking at something in her eye. "I know." Emily hated it when anyone saw her cry, so Joel had waited patiently as she had tried to regain control of herself. Emily wanted to be strong for him, and that was a thing not a lot of wives these days did for their husbands. When she finally did turn back to the screen, Joel made a deliberate effort to notice how bright her eyes were even though they were a dark brown. She always kept her brown hair cropped close and never let it reach the tips of her shoulders. For some reason, she thought it made her look more professional.
They had both married young. Emily was barely twenty-eight, and Joel himself was turning thirty in May. But they were not like a lot of the young couples Joel knew. Emily, for one, had made it a cardinal rule that there were to be no four letter words used in the house while they were raising their daughter even though neither of them were in the habit of such things. Neither of them smoked either, but she'd instated that policy too, and Joel knew there was no arguing with Emily over something like that. She also insisted that they go to church regularly, and she became very upset when she learned that the UAC had no services whatsoever on Sundays. Joel had forgotten, but he didn't tell her that. She was already upset enough about his leaving.
And she was a very professional person. She was a licensed medical practitioner, which was a much higher paying profession these days than a stupid grunt like he was. But she'd been talking about quitting recently so she could spend more time with their daughter. And Joel loved her even more because of that.
After a minute of uneasy silence, Joel had said, "I love you, baby."
"I love you too." She said, finally looking back at the screen.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Joel knew that unmistakable cry anywhere, and he smiled as Emily's head momentarily disappeared from the screen so she could lean over and call, "Mommy's talking to daddy right now, sweetie!" And after a pause and a brief glance back at the screen, she asked, "Would you like to say hi to daddy, honey?"
The squeal of delight that followed had nearly brought to tears to Joel's eyes. Over the tinny, long distance satellite connection, he heard the sound of small feet running into a room that he had been billions of miles away from right then. And then he realized that he still was.
Then he watched as his wife reached down and scooped up his daughter in her arms. Then he found himself staring into the face of his little girl. Her big blue eyes stared into the screen, and her tiny lips curled into a huge smile. Yes, it was his daughter: Megan. "Daddy!" she squealed, and her hands shot out and covered the screen.
"Don't touch the screen, honey." Emily said gently. "You're squashing daddy's face." Joel smiled, and he'd watched as Megan's little hands instantly removed themselves from the screen and were replaced by Megan's worried face.
"Did I hurt you, daddy?" she'd asked fearfully.
"No, honey." Joel had said. "Daddy's still as big and strong as always. How are you, honey? Is kindergarten going well for you?"
"Yes!" she'd shouted exuberantly. "Mommy says I'm very smart! I get a gold star everyday from teacher!"
"Well, there was never any doubt of that." Joel had said. "You've always made daddy very proud."
"Really?" Emily had asked, Joel unable to focus on anything but her sparkling eyes. "I'm special, daddy?"
"You're very special to me, sweetie." Joel had said. "Very special."
"Daddy…" Megan had said, "I miss you."
"I miss you a lot too." Joel had said.
Then Megan had stretched her arms out. "I miss you this much."
Joel then had stretched the length of his arms. "Well, I miss you this much."
"When will you be home?" she had asked. "Mommy says soon, but Mommy cries a lot. Are you really coming home, Daddy? Why does mommy cry so much?"
"Sweetie…" Emily had warned cautiously.
"Because Mommy loves Daddy very much." Joel had explained to his daughter. "And Mommy misses Daddy just as much as you do." And from that point, conversation had been short. Joel had felt bad every minute of it, and he still did. His daughter was only five, and her daddy wasn't home to be a father to her. When he'd left, she'd cried the way the airport and wouldn't let go of his hand so he could get on the shuttle. But didn't it figure that life would throw this at him when he didn't need it? Of course it did. But that was why they were both coming to see him today. And they were not just visiting shortly, but for a whole two weeks.
A whole two weeks. Strangely, all Joel could think about was how much time it would take to explain everything to Emily. And then he thought about all the things he could do with Megan. Show her the Martian landscape on foot, show her where he worked and lived, take her down to the bar to have a chocolate milk (which was actually pretty good)…and then he got excited again.
He looked down at his watch. It was three 'o clock Galactic Standard Time. The drop-ship was scheduled to come in at three thirty, and he was only in the transit centre. He needed to book it if he wanted to make it past monorail security and get to Mars City Central. He took his Personal Data Assistant out of his pocket, and consulted the map. Then he looked down the junction where he was standing. The monorail station wasn't even a minute away, but it would take God knows how long to get past security.
He moved quickly down the hallway, his other concerns slowly being replaced by thoughts of his wife and daughter.